122: Escape from turbulent waters, a wondrous encounter in an ancient temple

Spatial turbulence is one of the most dangerous existences in the world. There is no concept of direction or time here, only countless violent and chaotic spatial fragments, energy storms, and various unknown dimensional traps sufficient to tear apart a Tiangang Realm expert.

At the moment Ye Chen forcibly tore through the spatial barrier of the underground palace, he suffered a significant backlash. His internal organs felt displaced, and a sweetness rose in his throat as a mouthful of blood nearly sprayed out, which he forcibly suppressed. The Chaos Gang Qi around his body activated on its own, forming a solid protective shield that wrapped him tightly.

However, upon entering this chaotic torrent, the Protective Aura shield let out an overwhelmed groan! Countless invisible and intangible yet incredibly sharp spatial fragments, like billions of sharp blades, frantically sliced and washed over the shield, producing a tooth-aching "chi chi" sound. Even more energy storms of various attributes swept in, sometimes bone-chillingly cold, sometimes scorching hot, and sometimes containing a strange corrosive power.

“Hmph!” Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, feeling his Divine Soul vibrate amidst this endless Chaos and tearing. He dared not be the slightest bit negligent and operated his chaos primordial fetus to its full potential. A massive amount of Chaos Gang Qi continuously replenished the shield's consumption. Simultaneously, he pushed the Chaos Genesis: Myriad Transformation Divine Ability to its limit, constantly adjusting the shield's attributes to simulate the relatively peaceful energy fluctuations around him, minimizing the impact as much as possible.

He was like a small boat in a raging sea, drifting with the current and struggling to maintain his stability. His Divine Sense was greatly suppressed here, barely able to perceive a few meters around him, making it impossible to distinguish directions.

“I must find a relatively weak point in space as soon as possible and escape!” Ye Chen thought grimly. Staying here for too long, even with his Foundation, he wouldn't be able to hold out.

He endured the discomfort and sank a portion of his mind into his Sea of Consciousness, attempting to communicate with the chaos spirit pearl that was inextricably linked to his life. This pearl contained the Chaos Origin and might have a miraculous effect on stabilizing space.

Sure enough, when his Divine Thought touched the chaos spirit pearl, the pearl trembled slightly, emitting a circle of soft and stable chaotic halo. This halo merged into his Protective Aura shield, instantly stabilizing the originally violently fluctuating shield and significantly increasing its resistance to spatial fragments.

Not only that, the pearl seemed to have a unique resonance with certain fundamental rules of space, transmitting an extremely weak pulling force pointing in a specific direction!

“Over there!” Ye Chen’s spirits rose, and he followed this pulling force without hesitation, moving forward with difficulty through the chaotic torrent.

He did not know how much time had passed—it could have been a moment, or it could have been several days. In spatial turbulence, time was meaningless.

Just as Ye Chen felt over half of his Chaos Gang Qi consumed and his Divine Soul began to feel waves of exhaustion, a glimmer of light suddenly appeared in the endless Chaos and darkness ahead!

That point of light was initially extremely faint, like a candle in the wind, but in the chaos spirit pearl's perception, it was incredibly clear! That was a relatively stable spatial node!

Ye Chen was overjoyed. He urged his remaining Protective Aura and, like a moth to a flame, charged desperately toward that point of light!

“Hum—!”

As if passing through a layer of viscous water film, the suffocating tearing force and sense of Chaos around him suddenly vanished. Ye Chen felt his feet hit solid ground, having successfully escaped the spatial turbulence and landed on a hard floor.

He took a staggering step, stabilized himself, and immediately surveyed his surroundings with vigilance.

This was not somewhere in Tianfeng City as he had expected, nor did it even look like anywhere on the Canglan Continent!

He was inside an incredibly massive palace. The material of the palace was neither metal nor jade, appearing as a dull bronze color, covered in the mottled traces of time. The vaulted ceiling was so high its top was invisible, disappearing into endless darkness. Giant pillars, each requiring ten people to clasp, supported this space. Carved upon them were countless ancient exotic beasts and profound runes he had never seen before, emitting a vast, ancient, and even slightly sorrowful aura.

The air was filled with the scent of death and dust, and Spiritual Qi was nearly exhausted. Looking around, the interior of the palace was incredibly empty; he was alone, with only some distant, vaguely visible broken sculptures and overturned jade platforms.

“Where... is this place?” Ye Chen was filled with uncertainty. Why would the chaos spirit pearl lead him to this strange place?

He carefully spread his Divine Sense, only to find that this palace seemed to have an extremely strong Restriction. His Divine Sense was suppressed to within a hundred-meter radius, making it difficult to perceive anything further.

He walked slowly forward along a cracked bronze passage. The sound of his footsteps echoed in the empty, silent palace, sounding exceptionally clear.

On both sides of the passage, he occasionally saw scattered weapon fragments that had long lost their spiritual light, as well as some fossil-like skeletons. Those skeletons were peculiar in shape; some were similar to the Human Race, while others had wings or multiple arms, clearly not human. Moreover, they had been dead for untold tens of thousands of years, turning into dust with the slightest touch.

“Is this an ancient ruin?” Ye Chen speculated. Judging by these traces, the age of this palace was likely frighteningly ancient.

He continued forward, passing through several collapsed hall doors, and arrived at a relatively intact side hall.

In the center of this side hall stood a Bronze Altar three meters high. The altar was octagonal, with a bronze lamp that had long since gone out placed on each corner. The surface of the altar was covered with dense runes that were even more complex and profound than those on the pillars outside. These runes seemed to form a massive, incomplete Formation that had long since stopped functioning.

What caught Ye Chen’s eye was an item enshrined at the very center of the altar.

It was not some divine Sharp Weapon, nor was it a Medicinal Pill or Jade Slip, but rather an irregularly shaped... fragment about the size of a palm!

This fragment was dark gold in color and covered in fine cracks, yet it emitted an indescribable aura of antiquity and majesty that seemed to reign over all things! This aura was faintly similar to the chaos spirit pearl, yet entirely different—sharper and more overbearing, as if representing some ultimate form of "order" or "Judgment"!

“This is...” Ye Chen’s pupils constricted. He could feel that when the chaos spirit pearl came into contact with the aura of this fragment, it did not transmit a sense of closeness, but rather... a complex resonance and vigilance?

He walked slowly up the altar and approached the dark gold fragment. The closer he got, the more he could feel the vast and silent power contained within. He had never seen the material of this fragment before; it was neither metal nor stone, warm to the touch, and when his Divine Thought tried to probe it, it was like a clay ox entering the sea, unable to penetrate it in the slightest.

“To be able to resonate with the chaos spirit pearl, this object is certainly extraordinary,” Ye Chen concluded. Although he didn't know its specific use, it was definitely an incredible treasure.

He tried to pick it up, but found that the fragment seemed to be fused with the entire altar, heavy as a mountain. With his current strength, he was actually unable to budge it in the slightest!

Just as he was about to urge his Chaos Gang Qi to try again, a sudden change occurred!

“Hum—!”

The chaos spirit pearl in his robes and the dark gold fragment on the altar vibrated slightly at the same time! An invisible wave centered on the two of them suddenly rippled outward!

In the next moment, those long-dimmed and incomplete runes on the altar seemed to be injected with some kind of power, lighting up one by one with a faint glow! Although the light was extremely dim and intermittent, it made the entire altar seem to "come alive"!

A vast, ancient, and fragmented flow of information followed the revived runes and surged violently into Ye Chen’s Sea of Consciousness!

“Chaos... Overseer... order... Collapse... Escape... Hide...”

The information flow was intermittent and blurred, filled with a sense of urgency, resentment, and warning, as if it were a final message left hastily by some existence an eternity ago.

Ye Chen let out a muffled groan, feeling a splitting headache. This information was too massive and ancient; with his current Divine Soul strength, it was difficult to fully endure and comprehend.

But a few key words caused his heart to shake violently!

Chaos? Overseer? order? Collapse?

Did this seem to reveal some ancient secret about the heavens, the earth, and the Universe? What was the connection between the chaos spirit pearl and this fragment?

Before he could think further, the entire ancient bronze palace suddenly began to shake violently!

“Rumble...!”

From above the vaulted ceiling, massive rocks began to fall, and cracks split across the ground, as if this palace, which had been silent for ages, was about to completely Collapse because of the recent fluctuations!

At the same time, in the endless darkness behind the altar, two points of crimson light suddenly lit up like lanterns! A cold, deathly, yet incredibly powerful intent locked onto Ye Chen like a rising tide!

This ancient palace was not empty! There was an unknown existence that had been awakened!

Ye Chen’s expression changed. Without hesitation, he grabbed the dark gold fragment, which had temporarily loosened due to the Formation's fluctuations, tucked it into his robes, and retreated at high speed!

“Roar—!”

A roar that seemed to come from the depths of Hell made the entire palace tremble! Those two points of crimson light approached rapidly, carrying a terrifying pressure that seemed to freeze the Soul!

He had to leave immediately!

Ye Chen’s eyes swept around rapidly. Relying on the chaos spirit pearl's faint sense of space, he unleashed a full-strength sword strike toward a cracked wall on one side of the palace!

“Chaos Return to Void Slash!”

The gray sword qi tore through the air and slammed heavily against the wall!

“Boom!”

The wall broke open to reveal a large hole, and outside the hole was the familiar night sky of Tianfeng City!

Ye Chen did not hesitate. His body turned into a streak of light and shot out through the hole!

Behind him, that terrifying roar stopped abruptly, as if blocked by an invisible boundary, unable to leave the confines of the ancient palace.

Ye Chen landed on a quiet rooftop and looked back, only to see the large hole slowly mending itself. Where was the ancient bronze palace? There were only ordinary streets and residences, as if everything that just happened was merely an illusion.

But the heavy dark gold fragment in his robes and the fragmented ancient messages in his Sea of Consciousness told him with absolute certainty that the encounter just now was no illusion.

He looked down at the dark gold fragment in his hand, his gaze deep.

“Chaos Overseer... order Collapse... What kind of secret does this fragment hide?”

Under the night sky of Tianfeng City, Ye Chen felt that he had touched upon a mystery far more ancient and vast than the conspiracies of the Dark Hall.